Catch and Release
by Silent Scribe
Summary: Alternative endings, lost chapters, and deleted scenes that won't be found in "Hooked," a running story involving Rin, Sesshomaru, and Kichiruka, a fish out of water. Or something like that.
1. Catch and Release

_A/N: Warning - this is an alternative ending to a current story. It is recommend that _Hooked _(also found on my profile) be read first. Thank you! ...This is written because I didn't just want this (rather dark) plot-bunny to languish in my mind. I'm posting this now because: 1. It fits with the present context of the story. 2. To assure readers that this is how _Hooked_ will NOT end. So you can feel less depressed when reading the story itself. _

**Catch and Release**

Kichiruka swallowed his jumping pulse. He shouldn't have returned. But just once more to see Rin, he had thought. In that instant he was prepared to risk everything. Now he was in a colossal mess. The muddy grass of the brook's bank stained his pants' knees. Not that Kichiruka cared anymore. He knew what would come. Complete exile. His sole advocate had managed to negate death – a sentence Kichiruka would have preferred at this point.

"So, sorcerer," Sesshomaru addressed the second water-demon in his midst.

Tensai didn't care for the way the dog-demon eyed him. He glared back.

"You're skilled with memory. Make your student forget of this encounter."

Kichiruka inhaled sharply. "Master…"

"Don't!" Rin cried. Only Sesshomaru's arm barred her from running up to Tensai and begging him upfront.

The swordfish sighed and shook his head. "You're asking the impossible, Lord Sesshomaru. I cannot do that anyway."

A silver brow arched. "You are unwilling?"

"I am incapable." Tensai folded his arms. "Memory can be stored in different manifestations, but you can't destroy it. Only the source."

"So then it can't be helped." Sesshomaru raised his blade. Kichiruka squeezed his eyes shut.

"Wait!"

Sesshomaru paused. Bakusaiga tracing just along the nape of Kichiruka's neck, not yet biting.

"I'll…I'll try." Tensai brokenly stepped forward, yellow eyes adhered to the ground. He couldn't bear to look at Rin. No doubt she felt tenfold worse than he. Why did the kindest women have to carry the heaviest of sorrows?

"Master Tensai…please, no," Kichiruka pleaded, resisting the cool hand on his shoulder. "I'd…I'd rather die knowing I had met Rin than live without a trace of her in my mind."

Tensai knelt to his student's eye level. He wanted to say how sorry he was, but what good would that do? Sorry never brought anyone back from the dead. Blinking rapidly, Tensai cleared his vision before turning a sure, steady gaze to his student.

"Master, I don't…"

Tensai held only proceeded to hum the incantation. First, he granted one last token of mercy and put Kichiruka under. The process was much easier with the subject unconscious, taking some of the pain from at least one of the parties. At length, Tensai withdrew a fine sapphire shard from Kichiruka's ear. The light inside the shard glowed with an inner light that fluttered like a bird.

"His memory?"

"Only of the past year," the swordfish said. He smirked painfully. "We'd have to remove a small boulder to retrieve his memory entire." With one finger, Tensai delicately turned the shard over in his palm. It didn't hold simply Rin's time with him, but also everything Tensai had been convinced to share in the space since. _Damn, he'll have to relearn everything, too._

A pulse of yoki pushed the water-demon to look up. Sesshomaru held out his hand. "I will destroy it."

Tensai nodded. "Of course."

"No! Master Tensai, please don't let him!"

"Forgive me, Miss Rin, but I cannot stop Lord Sesshomaru from destroying what he wishes…Once he finds it!" With all his strength, the swordfish flung the bright shard off into the distance.

Amber eyes widened as the shard left a glittering trail that glinted for a second in the sun and then vanished off beyond Inuyasha's Forest.

Tensai smiled. He hadn't done the right thing, but at least there was a chance that the right person might find it. There was a rationale to that. He sighed. And stark, physical pain suddenly knifed through his chest.

Sesshomaru recoiled his whip. "Such a sentimentalist."

oOo

I feel like I've lost something. Which is ridiculous because my personal possessions are all accounted for. I've turned this thought around a few times, when I don't have anything better to do, and wondered if I got it backwards. Like maybe I didn't lose something…maybe someone lost me.

And that makes even less sense. I know I don't belong to anyone. My folks lost me way back when I was small and no one's found me since. But that pain is centuries' old. So why does this feeling resurface now? To be suddenly unmanned by this whimsy, it's silly. And yet I find myself unable to laugh at it, too.

Who's missing me?

Not Tensai, that's for sure.

I don't know what brought it on, but the drinking I once suspected of him suddenly worsened, spiraling into blatant alcoholism. He used to always be snappish with me – then it deteriorated to him going back and forth between hating me and acting as guilty around me. I'm not sure what made him change his mind all of sudden. "It's easy to hate the ones you've injured," he once mumbled in between stupors. I'm still not sure if he was talking to me or something else his glassy eyes gaze off to. In any case, it was the last thing I heard him say.

I've kind of lost count how long it's been since I left Mikan. Twenty I guess. Give or take a year. I never thought wanderlust would find me again since I came to Mikan. But once it took hold, it rode me off and fast into the ocean. I felt only compelled to go. And maybe find who or whatever "lost" me. It's only recently that it occurred to me that maybe what I'm looking for can't be found at sea.

Yesterday, I took my first trip to the surface. For years, I've debated the temptation. It seemed so wrong somehow for a water-demon to abandon his mother element and yet…Well, it's not abandoning if you're only going to visit, right?

The sandy beaches were splendidly soft and curled between my toes, all the sun's warmth packed into every grain. But the dark forest beyond them tempted me farther away from the shore. The compulsion excited me and altogether creeped me out. Why on earth go inland? I took one look at the forbidding trees and a whiff of that exotic pine smell. Why not?

Today marks that I've wandered for about a day and half, and the fear of getting lost has completely evaporated. It's like being a little kid again. I couldn't get more lost than I already am so might as well make the most of it.

But now I'm thirsty. Not like, man, I need a drink, thirsty. More as in the sense that my whole body needs to be immersed in water again. And I'm far from the ocean. I was once told that water yokai have internal compasses that can guide them to water. I closed my eyes and just ran into a tree. On this second try I've gotten lucky and tripped up on a brook. It's a nice little refuge, but there's also a net here. Almost got stuck in it myself. Where there are nets there are humans. None of the stories I've heard offer a very flattering light. And yet I'm drawn with an insatiable curiosity. So after I soak up a bit, I hop out of the creek and forge on. I assume they live over the next hill.

Walking down the knoll, sure enough I find a village. I don't know how humans react to yokai, so I keep my distance. Well, that was the initial plan. I've walked but three paces closer to the perimeter when I pitch forward, a sharp crack still smarting on the back of my skull.

"Where the hell have you been?" a sliver-maned half-demon demands of me. He doesn't look much older than I am, or by however it is that halflings age, and a set of dog ears atop his head prick forward aggressively.

"Do I know you?"

He swears gustily before grabbing me by the collar and hauling me into the village. I guess I'm going to get my tour. Albeit, it's not very thorough. Even though I'm on my feet now, the hanyo is walking to briskly for me to take in no more than a few sights at a time. I try to focus on what's being said instead. I'll take a gander and guess that these people are used to their resident half-demon because although some mumble at my presence, no one rebukes me. They aren't all rushing for their torches and axes like most tales describe. A few even hollered hello like they recognized me. Impossible since I've never been here before.

"Um, I'm sorry, but what's your name?"

"Inuyasha," the half-demon barks. "Just remember that I'm the nice one."

Is that so? Maybe this village actually has better artillery than the standard farm equipment. Now I'm nervous.

Inuyasha stops before a matured gent in priestly robes. "Miroku, wouldja lookit this," my escort says by way of introduction and jerks a thumb at me.

"How do you do," I said, though it felt unbelievably awkward, even for someone trained in improv. "I'm—"

"Kichiruka," the human, Miroku, greets with a warm smile. Maybe it was a grand joke of some sort or another. They couldn't possibly know me. But they know my name. And it isn't exactly a common one either.

"How does everyone know me?"

"Your memory was wiped clean, dumbass," Inuyasha snaps.

"I don't remember that."

"No shit." When Inuyasha rolls his eyes, I notice that they're amber. I find the color a bit unsettling, but I'm not sure what they remind me of.

The monk nods. "Please follow. We'd be much obliged if you did."

Since it's a pretty harmless request, I do. For all I know they could be lying about this memory thing, but it's a good storyline. Until we arrive at this small house and, after few calls from Miroku, a woman steps out. Now, I'm not too good with calculating human ages – looked it up once because I was curious – but I guess she's about ten years younger than the monk, but appears about that many years more than the hanyo.

Then she embraced me. No one's ever greeted me like that. Ever. Tactile as I usually am, this was a total switch. And I've never felt more lost.

"Sorry, I gotta go," I apologized. I tried to be polite. Really.

The woman nodded. She wrung her hands and looked the other way. She looked like she wanted to cry. Damn, it just makes me sick to leave someone so unhappy. At the end of the day, I just want people to smile.

"Is there something I can do for you, ma'am?"

She looks down at me. Hesitates for a minute. Then reaches into her yukata to pull out this bright shard.

"Please." She offers me the shard.

Okay, so this whole village is dirt-poor and this woman has like some secret stash as if she can just freely give away a precious stone to the next yokai that passes through.

"I can't accept this."

"It _is_ yours," she insists. I think I just made her go from sad to angry. Great.

"How do you know?" I ask, humoring her. That's what you're supposed to do with people off their rocker, right?

She takes my hand and presses the shard into it. There's a sharp pain in my palm, but for a second I can't even feel the shard anymore.

"Because," she explains, "I had a wish once."

And she smiles at me in that way Rin always does.

.

_A/N: Thank you for reading. More unrelated _Hooked_ stories will be sporadically added to this collection._


	2. Kraken Wise

_A/N: Because when Fluffy's Lady said, "Oo, I wanna know how Elmo and the Grouch met!" I just couldn't leave the idea alone. Thanks, love!_

**Kraken Wise**

Kichiruka completed the routine with a dizzying whirl and a devilish wink. The full-house of applause was punctuated by the clink of gold coins in his range. He would collect them later. Right now, the court jester basked in his crowd's attention. Kichiruka knew he belonged to the public, mostly because he had never belonged to anyone else. In keeping to entertainment, he got to make as many friends as he wanted without ever making one mainstay.

And the connections weren't always that bad, either. Kichiruka gave a speedy salute to his benefactor in the audience. Ichikawa waved back with the tip of one black fin. Over the course of his life, Kichiruka had been to many places, but the past five years under this one ocean lord had proved the most lucrative. He liked to enjoy the time while it lasted. In a few more years, he might leave. Kichiruka never stayed in one place for long.

"Thank you for your kind patronage, my lord," the dolphin yokai said politely as he personally greeted Ichikawa for the evening.

The Lord of Mikan lounged in his strange, Western-style throne, the shifting green gleam in his heavy lidded eyes the only sign that he wasn't completely inert.

"Retiring so soon?" The purple vertical stripes on either of Ichikawa's cheeks quirked in a smirk.

Kichiruka laughed nervously. Laidback as his lordship was it occasionally unnerved Kichiruka. _Like why does he have to make the simplest things sound dirty?_ "Yeah, I better."

Ichikawa fluttered his eyelashes. "Have you someone anticipating your arrival?"

"No, but it is a bit of a swim from here to…" He jerked his head in the direction of the capsized ship that he never really referred to as home.

"I don't see why you never take up permanent residence here." Ichikawa frowned slightly and even made the effort to straighten a little. He always made the offer and invariably Kichiruka declined in some way or another. It wasn't having his hospitality consistently skirted that bothered Ichikawa, it was the notion that Kichiruka, even after a handful of years in his service, didn't feel comfortable enough to stay.

Drifting backward as surreptitiously as possible, Kichiruka grinned. "Maybe someday eventually I'll take you up on it, my generous lord," he hedged. "Well, I shall be off."

"Until next time." But by the time the words had left his mouth, Ichikawa saw Kichiruka disappear beyond the next column. The Lord of Mikan sighed. And pouted. He genuinely liked Kichiruka. The lad wasn't just intelligent – in these years of service he never repeated a routine – he had the right wits about him to harness humor. Whether innate or through experience, the manta ray appreciated the quality.

Like most of his live capital, Ichikawa had little knowledge of exactly where Kichiruka came from. From his jester's routines and regaling tales, he gathered that Kichiruka's memory stretched back to the Mainland Invasion some two hundred years ago, he had lived with sea lions for a time, and had gone from one place to another without much loss or care.

And Ichikawa could feel the wanderlust creeping close to reclaim his subject like a fond parent. Kichiruka had been useful in pleasing the crowd, a trump card at welcoming foreign yokai who saw their customs mimicked, and more than once Kichiruka had proved instrumental in deflating high tension situations. In the centuries that Ichikawa had spent tending to his domain, he had not found a peer to Kichiruka. It was like searching for seashells and coming up with a lump of gold. Ichikawa was determined not to let the ocean plunder him of this treasure.

_I will find reason for him to stay. _

And among Ichikawa's many concerns that was one of the highest priorities.

oOo

Ichikawa's first priority sat in front of him. A geranium. The seeds had been gifts from a visiting yokai last summer. One year had since elapsed and they had only bloomed to a sorry, sickly state. Maybe it was a bad idea to bring them underwater, he considered. The foreign yokai had remarked that the plant would reach its fullest bloom under a gardener of decent character. Only then with the evidence present would he offer a trade agreement to the Lord of Mikan Coast. Ichikawa snorted, trying to prop up a drooping bud. What a con. _We live in saltwater, how could anyone expect this thing to blossom? _

Ichikawa felt a fine tremor in his horns. He didn't need to turn around to know that his wife was behind him.

"I say he's ready." Her tone was light and airy as if they had been holding a conversation for several minutes now and she hadn't just walked into the chamber.

Ichikawa hummed softly, still fiddling with a leaf on the geranium.

"Use him or lose him. You and I both know that boy needs a challenge or he's going to leave soon."

Ichikawa nodded absently.

"_Listen to me_." The siren slipped between her husband and the whimsy flower he was studying.

"I can't get it up," Ichikawa sighed forlornly.

She folded her arms over her stomach, cradling her breasts. "We have medication for that."

"I was talking about the plant," he huffed.

"Well, I wasn't."

Ichikawa smirked. "Then I don't know which of your 'pets' you could possibly mean because I'm perfectly fine." To prove his point, the manta ray drifted closer and pressed close.

"Did you talk to Kichiruka?"

"Not yet." Ichikawa sighed, already lost in her hair.

"And Tensai?"

Ichikawa busied himself traveling down her throat.

"Well?"

"Must you take all the fun out of everything?" He drew back, his small eyebrows drawing together. "Besides, it was a passing thought. I don't know if it'll even work."

The brow over the one eye presently peeking through her auburn tresses arched. "You haven't?"

"Come now, you know I'll feel better after we…"

"Priorities." She pressed a hand into her husband's chest.

"But the last one is finally out of the house and…"

"Now."

oOo

Kichiruka wondered why Lord Ichikawa was uncharacteristically short with him when they met. _Probably hasn't gotten laid in the past twenty-four hours,_ he guessed.

Looking around the meeting hall – it never got old – Kichiruka saw scenery screens alongside gaudy portraits. Standing out against one background was a potted plant. A sorry looking flower that should have been bright red had only pale petals for show. Kichiruka tugged on the stem, trying to make it perk up. He only succeeded in uprooting it.

Ichikawa turned a blind eye to it. Instead, he rewarded his subject with, "I wish you to study under our very own Master of Arcane Arts, Tensai." When Kichiruka blinked, the manta ray elaborated, "The mean old swordfish who knows a thing or two about casting spells and such."

Kichiruka was still drawing a blank.

Ichikawa heaved a long-suffering sigh. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea if the dolphin was this unperceptive. "The swordfish, you've seen him, yes? Long nose, shorter temper?"

Kichiruka started out shaking his head, then slowly began to nod. "Yeah…wait, I think so." He had seen the slim, shadowy figure that occasionally slipped in and out of the court. Tensai, he had heard, wasn't an official member and so was relieved of much of the responsibility and privilege of "real" courtiers. Though many of the members despised him for having what appeared to be a close tie to the reigning lord. Tensai was nonetheless afforded private audiences and occasionally was cited as a source of insight. The bicentennial length of his residency within the domain made it pristine he was not one of Ichikawa's "toys" but an asset with considerable value and, perhaps, influence. That Tensai had been designated as merely the tutor to Ichikawa's children was surely pretext.

"So let me see if I understand correctly." Pressing his palms together, Kichiruka twirled an uprooted geranium by the stem. "You want me to learn a new craft and leave my former position?"

"No, not quite." _I want you to stay_. "I think your talents could develop with

"Do you seek to replace Tensai?"

Ichikawa's eyes fractionally widened. He hadn't considered that at all. If Kichiruka's potential proved all it could be, what would that mean when he finally outstripped his own teacher? Ichikawa shook out his wings. One step at a time. "I simply prefer not to become so dependent upon one subject to fulfill a specific role," he answered smoothly. "Let's just see how you perform for now, mm? At a certain point I should like to sample the extent of your lessons. See how everything proceeds with Master Tensai."

Kichiruka nodded. "One question, my lord."

"Only one?"

Kichiruka smiled. "Does Tensai have a good sense of humor?"

Ichikawa's laughter crashed like a tidal wave and his answer swept away the twigs of Kichiruka's hopes. "Such a question implies that he even has one to start with!"

The lesser yokai cringed, the geranium dropping from numbed fingers.

"You can keep that," Ichikawa said, scooping up the fallen flower. "I've given up on trying to make them bloom. As a matter of fact…" He tossed Kichiruka a pouch full of seeds. "Here. Have a ball."

Wandering out of Ichikawa's meeting hall, Kichiruka drifted through the main city. Maybe if he kept his ear to the ground he could learn more about this strange demon who didn't laugh.

oOo

"His title is Master of Arcane Arts," Kichiruka pointed out to the other yokai that invited him to the tavern that night after Ichikawa had informed him of this so-called promotion. At first, Kichiruka had decided that he could still make the most of it. His friends now persuaded him otherwise.

"They say he's not even a real Master of Arcane Arts," one demon opined.

Kichiruka sat at the tavern, his first drink barely touched. "How could he get such a title then?"

"Oh, you know how they say Ichikawa makes his exceptions and pulls strings as needed."

"Our lord has his ties. He probably found someone willing to do the job."

A concurring snort rumbled out of another demon that looked like a hammerhead shark with one eye in the center. "Our lord's an odd lot with how he goes 'bout gittin' things done. Unnatural luck in that he usually manages to find exactly what he's looking fer. Why if he ever needed a 'domesticated' demon to wed and bed a human he'd find 'im."

"Really?" Kichiruka stared wide-eyed and surprised.

The bartender laughed. "Don't go frightening the naïve boy there!"

Kichiruka tried to steer the conversation back on course. "I don't get it, though. This Tensai sounds very accomplished in his craft, how could he not be claimed a Master Sorcerer?"

"They say he broke some protocol."

"Protocol? Like what?"

"How should I know what the protocol is? Probably killed some'un."

Kichiruka blinked. "Killed someone?"

"Nah, guess not…probably killed _lotsa_ demons to get a rep like that. Might've killed his own teacher – yeah, that would make sense. Now watcha gettin' all pale fer, Ki'ruka? Ne'er said he killed any of his students. All of Ichikawa's brats came out alive."

Kichiruka laughed nervously. "Yeah, but I don't want to be one of those famous exceptions."

oOo

With clenching hands that grew more claw-like at each convulsion, Tensai wanted to strangle his last student. He had never felt more used in his life.

But the last student…The last student disgusted him. It wasn't that the boy was stupid. Not by any stretch. Amongst his siblings he was arguably the brightest. But it was his attitude. He came in, received his lesson, practiced it, and left. He returned, took the exam administered. And left. When he didn't want to learn something, he sat quiet and listless. If his teacher stormed too much at the insolence, the boy curtly reminded Tensai who his father was. Thrice Tensai had appealed to Ichikawa who simply said, "Let him choose his education."

_What sort of flippancy is that?_ Tensai fumed. But he endured it until the brat was good and ready to go.

He kept their relationship distant. Tensai didn't know why he felt that was a problem. He wasn't looking for anything here…

_It's just…disgracing,_ he decided. No one liked to be treated as an object.

But it could have been worse. _Could have been a lot better, too!_ But it could have been worse. Tensai could have been stuck with a complete fool.

Then Ichikawa entered his chambers. And told him who would be his new student. The court jester.

oOo

"You never did respect my position. That's what!" Tensai stormed from one side to the other of his study. Ichikawa waited. "Gods above, why?"

A slow, sleepy smile just curved across Ichikawa's face in response.

"Request for ritual suicide first."

"Oh, you're so dramatic!" Ichikawa waved a fin at his subject.

Tensai frowned as Ichikawa squirmed and giggled to himself. _He gets off on this shit, I know it._ The swordfish wished His so-called Excellency would get the hell out of his personal quarters. Giving Ichikawa a visual clue, Tensai parked himself near the exit.

Ichikawa smiled. Tensai was an impatient man by nature. Probably not suited to be a teacher in the first place, but that's what made things interesting. This should be an interesting experiment to see how quickly the little not-fish could learn. If Ichikawa liked anything better than his world of luxuries, it was the acquisition process itself and a singular tantalizing component: _risk_. His new investments only showed their mettle when they were placed just outside of their comfort zone. Tensai had been a real gamble when Ichikawa came across him. No one would have guessed the genius behind a glassy-eyed demon who had spent the last several decades drinking his memories away. Even after two hundred years since, Ichikawa had never asked Tensai of his circumstances. Mostly because it didn't interest him; but also owed to that two were completely different people – and the only one who mattered was his loyal, intelligent subject. Oh, and this Tensai had just that edge to get him what he wanted.

_My dear Tensai, I suspect that you and this lad have more in common than you think._ He knew the swordfish wouldn't believe him, so he kept the comment to himself. Instead, he said, "Kichiruka has much promise."

Tensai arched a skeptical brow.

"You can't expect opportunity to take root if you don't tow the silt yourself," Ichikawa added.

"Then why don't you worry about that?" the swordfish snapped.

"Because you're the one who can do it."

_Like a specialized tool,_ Tensai thought bitterly.

"You will also be handsomely compensated."

Tensai frowned. "You can't just buy me."

"No, I didn't think so." Ichikawa's laughter bubbled. He sobered quickly. "But I do own you. So, my dear Tensai, when I offer compensation it is a favor between friends, wouldn't you agree?"

Tensai shrugged. Did he really have a say to begin with? "Now, I know that this is one of your little 'experiments,' but how long are you going to allow for a trial run?"

Tapping the tip of one fin to his chin, Ichikawa hummed idly. His eyes rolled leisurely over the stony ceiling. "Say, is that design new?"

"How long?" Tensai demanded.

"One fortnight."

Well…that was much shorter than Tensai had anticipated. Two weeks. He could manage. "So…" he sighed in resigned tones. "When do I meet this clown?"

oOo

Items listed on the contract included prohibition on desertion, seppuku, or sabotage. Kichiruka wondered what extraordinary circumstances had driven others to these extremes before. Getting his first look at the swordfish yokai he would call "teacher," Kichiruka didn't think it could be that bad. But he also didn't know that the same terms and conditions were meant for the instructor as well.

Tensai was all sharp angles and sails. His clothes swam on his thin, bony frame and large yellow eyes leered over a long, thin, lance-like nose. The flowing black robe with its bold patterns denoted his station, otherwise about the only thing that actually looked powerful was his tailfin. But shape-twisting was a common thing among ocean yokai.

_Actually, he looks a little tired. _

"Make your mark here," Tensai said blandly, pointing at the contract.

"I can write," the young demon chirped.

"Then do it."

As he scribbled his name, Kichiruka looked up. "You're not very friendly I take it?"

"Huh." Tensai studied his new pupil's name. "Clever?"

"Excuse me?"

"You have the word for 'clever' in your name. Or is that one of those cruel 'ironic' appellations?"

"No, sir?" Kichiruka hoped that was the right answer.

Tensai heaved a gusty sighed and looked in the other direction. "We'll soon find out."

"Oo, can you do that again?"

"Excuse me?" Tensai looked up.

"I dunno. Whatever you call it. I guess it was a sigh. Your gills all flared out and everything and…" Kichiruka trailed off.

Tensai drummed his fingers irritably on the stone desk, waiting for Kichiruka to shut up. As soon as the last stroke on the contract was complete, the parchment curled on itself and disappeared in a shimmer. Off to the main records, presumably.

Kichiruka didn't notice. He was too busy exploring the new setting of Tensai's study. If not too many people associated with Ichikawa's unofficial sorcerer, then this was a rare sight indeed. "Wow, what's this—?"

"Don't touch that!" Tensai smacked Kichiruka's hand aside and snatched the scroll up. "You're nowhere near adequate to even glimpse this level."

"Quantity control?"

"Quantitative enhancement," Tensai growled. "It multiples matter and…" He ended with a frustrated snarl. "Don't touch!"

"Yessir. Um, sorry." Kichiruka scratched the nape of his neck, not exactly sure what to do or what was expected of him.

"Here." Tensai handed him a rag. "Make yourself useful and polish every vial and ware on the shelves. For that matter, do the shelves too."

Kichiruka readily accepted the task. Most apprenticeships started with humble work…then he realized that just about every wall in the study had rows of shelves built into it. And in each shelf was no less than a hundred little glass vials. Damn.

"So, uhh…polish up here? Sir?" Kichiruka stood on floated up to scrub the barnacles off the first shelf. _A thousand miles, a single step. A thousand miles, a single step…_

Tensai didn't even glance up from his scroll. "Yes, make sure you do a thorough job, too."

"And how's this supposed to be part of my training?"

"It…ah, it improves your reach." _And those shelves haven't been polished in years._

In this fashion, Tensai decided he could keep Kichiruka occupied without ever having to do much of anything. On a daily basis, his so-called 'apprentice' – Tensai's skin crawled at the title – was only under his instruction for but a few hours more than Ichikawa's brats had been. Sometimes, depending on Ichikawa's demands from his jester, less than that. So long as he could come up with new tasks for each time they met, Kichiruka would have an education in want of anything critical that Tensai actually had to teach.

But Kichiruka wasn't stupid either. By the fourth day it began to dawn upon him that maybe Tensai had no intention of imparting his precious knowledge. Fine.

Kichiruka had hoped that as time went on Tensai would gradually warm up to him. He was sorely mistaken. Ichikawa had always treated Kichiruka like a responsible individual and with a degree of amenity. Tensai, without fail, addressed Kichiruka with borderline hostility. The swordfish considered his newest charge an insult to his position. Ichikawa may have provided the means to take a Master's Exam and while Tensai was grateful he didn't appreciate that Ichikawa felt entitled to shovel whatever triviality he wanted the spell-caster's way. Passing on his knowledge to a professional fool? He'd sooner tutor a snail.

"Damn!" Kichiruka swore when he slid aside a heavy tub and smashed his fingers on one side.

"Watch your mouth," Tensai barked.

"Master Tensai, you curse all the time."

Tensai turned around and tugged at the lapel of his black robe. "Do you wear this?"

"No, sir."

"There's your fucking answer."

And Kichiruka finally called him on it. "Do you like me at all?"

Tensai swung around on Kichiruka, slamming his hand down hard on the nearest stony surface with enough force to fissure it. "I consider myself an excellent judge of what I like and dislike," he said. "And I dislike you."

"Well…I think if you got to know me…" Kichiruka trailed as the sharp tip of Tensai's nose shoved under his chin.

"No. I disliked you when I heard about you. I dislike what I see. And I know you will continue to do things I dislike."

Kichiruka gulped, his Adam's apple scraping against the needle-sharp tip that still pressed close. As an entertainer, his ego had a precarious connection to his audience's opinion. Tensai's words cut him down faster than the swordfish's bill could have accomplished in twice the time.

"Well," he huffed, taking sustenance from indignity, "Ichikawa still assigned me to you."

The sails on Tensai's head and forearms flushed a furious deep blue. "Do you think I'm like other yokai that act and abstain at the whims of greater demons?"

"N-no, sir," Kichiruka stammered, treading water backward. The anger in Tensai's aura pounded the space around Kichiruka, scraping against his own yoki. "I-I don't think you're quite like other yokai at all."

A curious expression flitted across Tensai's eyes. But only for a second. "Huh, you speak more truly than you realize. It might do you better to remain silent."

"As my teacher instructors," Kichiruka acidly replied and swept outside. The young yokai was at his wits' end. He wasn't meant for this position. Hell, he never even wanted it! Did Ichikawa want him to leave?

Kichiruka didn't go very far. Rather, he just sat outside among the tallest spires atop Tensai's study. He considered going for a swim, but a sudden motion caught his attention. Kichiruka paused to watch a small pod of dolphins zip by. He thought about giving a squeal to them, but what was the use? He had given up on following the simple cousins of his kind. They had their own routes to swim and, when they did come in contact with yokai, it was merely to ask the perpetual question on their minds, "Food?"

All dolphins always traveled in groups. Except, of course, Kichiruka. He never did like being a famous exception.

His family had been big. Kichiruka had eight brothers and sisters. His mother was respected for her healthy turnout and Kichiruka, her youngest, received a hearty share of the attention. Kichiruka chuckled mirthlessly. _I was the ninth-born – an unlucky number. Maybe I was cursed from the beginning._ He hoped his mom hadn't lost any more of his siblings in the turbulence of the Mainland kamikaze.

Now, his early memories were barely more than patchwork – his mother's eyes that were the startled blue of autumn skies, the cajoling laughter of his eldest brother, a doting aunt who always managed to worry too much. Kichiruka wished he could remember more specifics from those early days. What traces he did have he repeated to himself so as not to lose them. Because once something was forgotten it was lost. Kichiruka often hoped that even though his family might never see him again that they hadn't "lost" him.

His most detailed memory of his father was the rumbling baritone once advising, "Successful persistence is when you have built as strong foundation with the stones others have thrown at you."

_But I haven't found any place fit to even begin a foundation yet_. Kichiruka heaved a sad sigh and leaned back, his hand falling on a flat stone. He picked it up. Then searched for one with a better tip for writing. He considered sending word to Ichikawa that things simply weren't panning out.

"That's not how you write it."

Kichiruka started at the sound of Tensai's snappish tone suddenly behind him. Then he looked back at the hiragana on the slate, now feeling a little guilty.

If Tensai actually cared about what was being written he gave no hint. Instead, he picked up a sharp piece of coral and scratched out Kichiruka's characters, replacing them with the proper kanji for his name.

"Disaster?" Kichiruka read. "And you said mine was a cruel moniker."

Tensai frowned. "It wasn't given to me."

"You chose it?"

Tensai huffed. "It is the name by which Lord Ichikawa knows me. Now are you going to leave or stay?"

Kichiruka wavered for a moment, feeling terribly uncertain. It wasn't an invitation.

Tensai glared at him before giving the young demon his back and swimming inside. Like the trickling of water through the smallest of crevices, Kichiruka slowly began to understand why Ichikawa assigned him to Tensai of all people. When Kichiruka drifted back into the study, Tensai was behind his desk, deciphering the old inscription on a large stone tablet. He obviously wasn't used to having company.

_And, at the end of the day, I'm here to make people smile. _

Taking up a smaller tablet, Kichiruka mimicked Tensai's posture. After a couple of seconds, he glanced up over the ridge and grinned at his teacher.

While it wasn't the desired response, Kichiruka decided it was better than a glare when Tensai rolled his eyes.

oOo

Tensai continued to issue pointless tasks, but his lessons had a little bit more meaning. He allowed Kichiruka to learn the basic layout of his quarters and was marginally surprised to see that the young demon was a quick study. It didn't take long for Kichiruka to understand not only what went where but the why as well. That some potions were reactive to others and needed to be stored separately. And that others were compatible with other compounds.

"What's this one do?" Kichiruka held up a vial of a clear, viscous mixture.

"It's a filter," Tensai said. "When you want to desalinate the water, you apply it around the given area." He demonstrated by taking an empty jar and stretching the gel over the mouth. Several rough shakes and the outer surface was covered with a coat of salt. "See? This means that the interior houses only something akin to fresh water."

"Really?" Kichiruka examined the jar. The water inside didn't look much different, but he would have to take Tensai's word on it.

Kichiruka selected another jar. "What's in this one?"

"You don't recognize dirt?"

"I can see that." Kichiruka rolled his eyes and pulled a face. "I meant what's so special about this that you would actually keep dirt in a jar?"

Tensai shrugged. "Nothing." It was from a place that probably no longer existed.

_So it's not important._ But just as Kichiruka was in the middle of unscrewing the lid a cobalt hand slammed down on it. Tensai snatched up the glass jar from his idiot student. "It's a clear ware! You can see it just fine. Since when does seeing involve touching every little damn thing?"

"I find it helps me understand something better." Kichiruka grinned. And too late Tensai saw the wicked glint enter his eyes. "Like I wanted to try this." Reaching out, Kichiruka poked the tip of his teacher's nose.

Outside, any surrounding yokai commented that they never knew Ichikawa had a volcano in his domain. Or that Kichiruka made such an amusing projectile.

When Tensai finally let him back in – a full day later – a new line was added to the contact from then on. A prohibition on ever laying a hand on the instructor's person. Especially his nose.

oOo

After several days' nonstop exertion – performance, Tensai, mediation, Tensai, dog and pony show, Tensai – Kichiruka thankfully crawled into bed. But a strange lump kept him from getting perfectly comfortable.

_A flower?_

Kichiruka turned the dead remains of the geranium Ichikawa let him keep over in his hands. Digging under his shirt collar, he retrieved the little leather pouch that held the seeds_. I've still got a week with Tensai. Maybe he knows how to grow flowers underwater. _

Kichiruka considered this a bit longer. _Nah, he wouldn't waste his time._ But he held on to the seeds. Kichiruka wanted to experiment. And he knew someone who might appreciate a successful result.

oOo

There eventually came a time just a day or two before a full fortnight was up that Tensai realized he didn't have anything for Kichiruka to do. Short of actually teaching him something, anyway.

"You can…um…" He took a moment to think and wished Kichiruka wouldn't look at him with those big, damn cerulean eyes like he would actually take whatever he said to heart. _I'm too old to believe that routine._ "Ah, just take the day off. Go sit in the sun or something. That ought to be good for you anyway."

Kichiruka beamed. "All right then."

He did exactly as instructed.

oOo

_Sprezzatura_ was a word Ichikawa had learned from a demon who hailed from a peninsula shaped like a boot. Ichikawa had to look twice at the map, too. Apparently such places existed. But whatever the circumstance, he liked the saying. In essence, it meant accomplishing something of consequence or great refinement without the appearance of effort.

And what a lovely ring to it!

While he appreciated the finer things in life – dramatic plays, good music, and novelties from afar – Ichikawa didn't like to make things more complicated than they ought to have been. All in all, his singular goal was to have a life of ease. For the best operation he simply checked to make sure that all was in order and settled. They weren't a very large kingdom, but materialistically everyone was content. Whatever their personal pursuits, Ichikawa didn't feel bothered enough to trifle with it. Oh, if push came to shove, he had to protect his holdings once every so often – but why not find someone else to do it for him?

During the war with the Mainland, Ichikawa had been fortunate that his holdings fell under the range of the Dog General of the Western Territories. They had weathered the resulting calamity without too much difficulty. Ichikawa had asked if the Great Dog Demon if he would ever consider an alliance in the future. A "we'll see" was written on the back of promptly returned message scroll. Shortly thereafter, the Inu no Taisho died from battle wounds, though scandalous rumor of the human female had even reached Mikan. Some said it was but only a few miles inland of Ichikawa's very own coast. Unfortunately, the Dog General's successor never inherited his sire's basic courtesy. Every envoy Ichikawa sent either returned scared wide-eyed and witless or, in the case of the last one, didn't return at all.

_What a fix, huh?_

"Lord Ichikawa, request permission to enter!" called a guard from outside.

Immediately, Ichikawa rushed to his easy chair, flung his leg over the arm and sprawled indecorously on the furniture. _Look at ease, look bored,_ he coached himself. "Enter."

The guard came in, unaccompanied. Only a brown wrapped package in his hands. "A parcel for you, m'lord."

Ichikawa blinked. When he undid the string only one coherent thought came out. "Send for Kichiruka and Tensai!"

oOo

Their crab-clawed escorts leaving them at the door, both yokai were privately received in Ichikawa's court.

"Welcome! How are things proceeding?" The amused twinkle in Ichikawa's eyes brightened with the contrast between Kichiruka's grin and Tensai's frown. "So glad to hear it!" he said, even though no one had spoken a word. "Won't you follow me?"

"Is this for a preliminary exam?" Tensai asked, hoping he didn't sound too eager. Though now that he was faced with the possibility of being rid of Kichiruka, he wasn't entirely sure if he was comfortable with it. _Well, at least things will be quiet again. Out of sight, out of mind._

Ichikawa laughed. "No need for it! Your student already gave me a fine demonstration of what he's learned from you in so short a time."

Tensai stopped swimming altogether. "Come again?"

"I wanted to thank young Kichiruka for his work on my geraniums." Ichikawa drifted aside to reveal a planter filled with no less than half a dozen healthy blooms. "You have an excellent student. He says he compiled this concoction listening to everything you've taught him in just this week alone."

Tensai was drawing a blank. _But I haven't taught him a damn thing._

Kichiruka smiled. "I paid attention, see?" Gliding over to the planter, the young demon cheerfully explained its conception. "First I packed the seeds in filter gel. You really can't expect anything like this to grow in saltwater. Then I filled the planter—"

"Hold on a moment, from where did you obtain inland soil?" Tensai asked.

"Well, you did say there was nothing special about that one jar of dirt, so I admit I took a minor liberty and…" Kichiruka stopped talking as Tensai slapped a hand over his eyes.

"_And then?_" the swordfish ground out.

Kichiruka chuckled weakly. "I went through your scrolls and looked for a quantitative enhancement spell," he hurriedly confessed. "I never tampered with the original soil."

Tensai's anger dissipated. "That spell calls for a species of kelp I haven't kept in my study for over ten years."

Kichiruka nodded. "I know it only grows it the most hard to reach spaces. But I guess those odd chores kind of helped."

"Chores?" Ichikawa canted his head in Tensai's direction.

"And a recommendation to get more sunlight," Kichiruka added. "When they started to sprout, I set them outside and VAH-VOOM!" Kichiruka emphatically threw his hands up to demonstrate the speed at which the geraniums sprouted. He grinned proudly.

Tensai had to press a hand to his chin to keep his mouth from hanging open. "You…You actually heeded everything since…?"

The young demon shrugged and smiled. "I had only to listen. You provided the instruction yourself, sir."

Ichikawa laughed. "So modest!" Clapping a wing on Kichiruka's shoulder, he pushed him forward. "Change your mind, old friend?"

Tensai harrumphed. "I'd like to see him try to keep pace."

oOo

Kichiruka hustled out of the main court as soon as the show was over. He hadn't expected to get an encore. The objective was always to leave them wanting more, not begging you to stop. Rushing, he hung a wide angled right around the next bend. And ran head-on into one of the crustacean guards.

"Off to meet with teacher?" The guard laughed.

Kichiruka smiled good-naturedly. "I'm behind schedule to boot."

Guffawing harder, the lobster-like demon leaned on his post. "Still can't fathom that the jester's learning some real magicks now! Has that swordfish got you juggling his potions or –"

Taking the small tusk at his side, Tensai spiraled it to full length and shoved the end of his pike under the guard's chin. "And _you_ are making him late for my next lesson. Kichiruka!" he called.

"Coming, Master Tensai!"

Tensai harrumphed. "Are you listening?"

"Yessir!"

Tensai gave a gruff "huh," but managed a smile when he did. He liked the sound of that.

.

_A/N: I'm quite fond of backstories myself and, especially with the questions some readers have been sending in, this story needed to written. I'm delighted that you've enjoyed the original characters that have turned up on the scene of this particular _InuYasha_ fanfiction._


	3. Netted

_A/N: This chapter is somewhat implied in Chapter 57 of "Hooked."_

**Netted**

The base of Mount Osore had but one main stream and, in his own travels, Tensai had only crossed it twice before. Somehow when he arrived this time it seemed to be rerouted. Could've just been the wear of years as well. Water had a way of carving its own path over time. When he got out of the stream, Tensai dried himself quickly – the hour was very near nightfall and the drafty outside air forced him to pull his robe closer. Why on earth had Kichiruka insisted on meeting here? When he had demanded an explanation, Tensai only received a hasty, "Kthxbai," – _whatever the hell that meant_ – as Kichiruka teleported out.

Now Tensai looked around the around the wooded area. Even though there was water nearby, there seemed no sign of a human settlement. Wait. Tensai squinted and he could perceive the outline of one small human dwelling. Withdrawing a piece of parchment from his sleeve, Tensai consulted Kichiruka's directions.

Go in there? Had Kichiruka taken leave of his senses? What was Tensai supposed to tell the resident? For that matter, why hell had Kichiruka even arranged this?

"This is getting incredibly…weird." But Tensai's inquiring mind prodded him on. _So just a quick look._ The house was vacated, but all the candles and hearth were lit. _Here's a fire hazard._ Not that it would worry a water demon. It just seemed strange. The interior of the home was completely furnished. _Someone lives here. _

Tensai looked around. He hadn't been invited and, by the rules that bound yokai, intruding into a mortal dwelling was strictly prohibited. Well, so long as everything was left in the same condition as found. But when Tensai realized he was already committing the present sight to memory, he immediately turned around_. Leaving. Leaving now. _But when he whirled around, Tensai felt his robe brush over something. The clunk of glass on the floor made him do a double take. A small glass vial, like the thousands he kept in his study and private cavern, rolled on its side. Tensai grumbled. _This_ is what he got for sharing his personal business with his student.

Tensai picked up the vial. It was the same crimson color he had for his other memories in his most cherished set. _But there's no inclination of a date or even a label._ Tied with a string at the neck was a tag that simply read: "Pour me."

"Kichiruka, if this is a cruel joke, I will never forgive you." The moment he poured the vial the room washed over in a red cloud, fogging over any previous scenery from view. Instead the setting of a familiar, centuries' old memory took the space: the open-air corridor of a sea merchant's mansion. It looked out to grey skies and a small garden, in which Tensai was aware he stood.

"Huh. A self-insertion combined with memory." Tensai examined the surroundings. On another day he would have praised Kichiruka. _But I don't wish to be in my own memories_. It was a delusion too painful to entertain. Especially without any liquor.

He looked and saw the woman who had haunted his dreams for more than three hundred years since she died. Still young, not more than twenty-five in this memory. She had passed away at thirty-five. Her hair was a deep, dark brown, nearly black and it parted neatly with sections off to either side wrapped in white silk. The length of her hair was tied back in the fashion most everyday women wore it. Simple. But hers had seashells entwined in it. Strange that they weren't there now. Was the memory imperfect? Or maybe he hadn't given them to her yet. Tensai couldn't remember. But when she stood, he didn't contest the legitimacy of the memory. She always moved with a certain harmony. It reflected well on her name.

"Wakanae," he breathed.

She smiled. Tensai already knew what she was going to say next. She would invite him to sit and listen to her play, her skill with the biwa still clear and true. Then they would start to talk about the coming spring rain, the blooming sakura, how early it was in the year, how much _time_ there was…He'd seen this memory a thousand times over, he didn't need to live it again.

"Tennosuke."

The gills on Tensai's neck quivered. It had been a long, long time since anyone had used his true name. Not even Ichikawa knew it. The swordfish had offered "Tensai" when he understood what a disaster his life had become.

Wakanae came down the steps from the corridor to where he stood. Tensai closed his eyes slowly before reopening them. She smiled back. The memory was probably sensitive to the owner. "It _is_ you! My Heaven-Sent." She always loved to play on the first syllable of his name.

_More like Hell-Born. _

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Tensai blinked. This wasn't part of the memory. It occurred to Tensai that she might be seeing him not as the memory ran but as he really was. She slipped a hand over his cheek and it had weight behind it. But he wasn't about to call her "real."

She laughed lightly. "Usually it's the humans who out-age their yokai lovers."

"Wakanae…how?" Tensai steeled himself. He'd finally snapped. That was the long and short. He'd lost himself in one memory too many. "You're not her."

"Truly?" She gestured to the two people on the deck. A young Tensai and a second Wakanae spoke in hushed tones, playing out the rest of the memory and completely oblivious to any other company but each other's.

"Care to join them?" she teased.

Tensai felt himself going lightheaded. This was impossible. The dead did not come back to life. Never so cleanly. "It's…it's part of the memory." Tensai crossed his arms and leaned back farther, scrutinizing. "And for all I know you're a kitsune vixen who relishes these ploys."

"I was admonished you wouldn't believe me." Colorful sleeves waved and all trace of the memory vanished, leaving only the two real conversers. They were back in the house. Wooden panels and warm fire light. "Just you and me here."

Tensai shook his head, backing up until the wall pressed close. "Souls that have already crossed on are beyond the grasp of everyone. Yokai, shamans…_everyone_."

"Not for itako."

"An itako?" The highest order of spiritual ascetics? Those were the women who summon souls from anywhere, but their dealings were hefty and _none_ of them were with yokai. Not without the cost of life. "What idiot is going to go…" Tensai stopped short. And pinched the bridge of his nose. "He is _such_ a moron."

"It's only for one night," Wakanae admitted. "That was the most your student could get for the amount he gave up."

_Gave up?_ Tensai looked her up and down. Incarnating a soul was expensive, no doubt, but he hadn't thought there was an additional price to keeping it on earth past that point. Sharp guilt panged through his chest. _Why?_ "And how?...It's unreal." Tensai spoke matter-of-factly.

Wakanae nodded. "Indeed, I never thought anyone could be so poorly coordinated with clothes." Giggling, she spread her arms to show off the mismatched garments Kichiruka had brought from home for her.

Tensai waved his hand. "No, no. None of this is real. At best this is a sham" – he gestured to her form – "made of cold, hard earth and bits of…" Tensai felt his lips suddenly pressed shut. And the matter against them felt warm, alive and supple.

Her caresses were careful – mindful of his gills and wary of the spiked, black sails. She knew him well. Small, soft hands slid over the lapels of his robe and Tensai dully remembered that this worked better without clothes. _How I've missed her_. It was as if he had been starving and never realized it. Now with the first morsel in reach he found himself consumed in devouring it.

If this wasn't real... well, he didn't want to find out.

oOo

Soft. Softer than the sweetest of summer nights. Tensai's body quivered and he didn't want to open his eyes. When he did, even after sweeping his fingers through her dark brown bangs – almost black like his own fins – he couldn't believe it. Was his Wakanae truly restored to him? She looked, sounded, and – as Tensai had soon ascertained – even tasted like Wakanae.

He trailed fingers down the thigh slung over his hip. When he reached the back of her knee a familiar squeal cooed low in her throat. She smiled and the chipped tooth that always interrupted one end of her grin flashed into view. Everything was there.

"For the last time…" she started.

"Only checking."

She stroked a hand down one side of his face. Somewhere along the years his eyes lost their luster. They had always been an otherworldly yellow, but now Tensai's gaze went from exotic to haunted. Tired lines had worked their way into someone Wakanae had never thought she would see age. His face had always been lean, but now it withered leaving the sharp edges of his strong jaw pronounced.

"Tell me all," she asked, kissing the tip of his nose.

"All?" Tensai parroted dumbly. Where to start? His expulsion? The drinking? The nadir of life without her?

Something must have contorted his features because Wakanae gently prompted, "Tell me about the kind boy who calls you teacher."

Yellow eyes darted from one corner to the next, then fixed back on their gentle, human counterparts.

"Kichiruka, huh?" _I ought to kill him for intervening like this._ "He's meddlesome."

Wakanae laughed. "He's concerned." She stroked the sharp line of her love's jaw. "And here we are tonight."

Tensai mirrored the gesture, but not the perfect joy in her eyes. "Just for tonight."

"A promise?"

Tensai gave a noncommittal hum.

"Don't be too angry with your pupil."

Tensai snorted and rolled to his other side. "I promise not to kill him."

"My dear…"

"Are you content with this?" His tone turned terse. It was much easier to be angry when he didn't have to look at her. "No, I suppose it doesn't bother you if you weren't alive."

"Tennosuke!" Wakanae couldn't deny it to herself. The man she loved up to her last day had aged in more ways than she could count. The easy smile and soft shine in his gaze had been replaced by a hard twist in his mouth and flint in his eyes. "Bitter. Has all that life has made you now?"

"How will I ever know this wasn't some fantastic dream? That my grip on reality hasn't irretrievably slipped?" Tensai shuddered and tried to compose himself. But despite every effort, his voice still came out strangled and broken. "There hasn't been one day I haven't thought of you. I dreaded sleeping for fear I would dream of you only to wake and find my days were nothing but starless nights." He kneaded her shoulders with the base of his palm. Her body puckering in response, Wakanae still held his gaze. There was little wonder why he selected the new name. Her Tennosuke's life had come unhinged into a disaster.

"Well, then I'm sor—"

"Don't apologize!" he snapped. That was the last thing he had wanted to hear from her. That was last thing she had said to him before… Damn, why did everything have to be so difficult?

Tensai lay back slowly, his arm encircling Wakanae again. Without further prompting, he described Ichikawa, the manta ray who oversaw their little domain with all the care you'd expect of a nestless cuckoo. But his position was protected, Tensai said. So long as Ichikawa could maintain decent relations with other seafaring yokai and keep rivalries to a minimum, they had the ideal situation. He described some of the strange gifts they exchanged with the Far West. And, of course, Kichiruka.

"Is he daiyokai?" Wakanae asked.

"No," grumbled Tensai.

"So how can he so carelessly give away his life like that?"

"…He's…of the domestic persuasion as well."

"A human interest?"

Tensai nodded. "A sweet child, truly, much like yourself." He tossed restlessly. "Maybe I should have discouraged it further. With teleportation, Kichiruka could have an advantage that many yokai wouldn't. He could have gone unnoticed."

"But..?"

"The girl's protector is a daiyokai."

"Oh…"

Tensai sighed. Distractedly, he reached for Wakanae, tracing simple circular patterns over her skin.

"Well…it may work toward their benefit," she offered.

"If he survives. The demon is a respected noble of these lands. Lord Ichikawa – my own liege – wishes to establish a partnership." Tensai hoped they had weathered the worst of it. "But those two still have yet to meet."

"And if it goes well, it would make the…"

"Exactly. We've much to gain and, from Ichikawa's perspective, nothing to lose. Should anything go wrong – tch, should Sesshomaru change his mind – my student will lose everything." He fell silent for a spell.

"So…a Master of Arcane Arts?" She smiled and nodded toward the piled black robe which had been so hastily discarded just a little while ago.

"Aha, a kitsune," Tensai chuckled. "How else is it you would know what that is?"

"Darling, it was the one thing you used to go on about."

"Besides you." Tensai smiled faintly. "It took a while to achieve…" He decided to avoid the subject that his instructor had expelled him once he decided to keep the human. And how, a hundred years later, Ichikawa had pulled strings for his candidacy. "But the time was worth it."

"You haven't been taking care of yourself," she observed. "If you're of such a good station, don't they feed you decently?"

Tensai stuck his nose off to one corner of the room. "I don't need to eat."

"Just because you don't need to, doesn't mean you shouldn't."

Tensai harrumphed.

Wakanae giggled. She missed that sound. Gently she nibbled at his chin.

"I'm tired," Tensai lied.

"Oh, you really are getting old!" she teased, but gave him the space he gruffly insinuated. Wakanae switched to a lighter subject. "I'm happy that Fate has provided him."

"What? A headache to keep me occupied?"

"A boy."

Tensai snorted. Should he tell her now? The resurfacing of the centuries' old lie made him sick to his stomach. It was only one night. Why ruin it?

"Wakanae?"

"Yes?"

_Say it now craven fool._ "Did you…pass with any regrets?" Tensai bit down on his own tongue. How stupid did that sound! Of course she did! Her last words were an apology, asking his forgiveness for what she thought was her own incompetency to give him a son.

"Not really."

Yellow eyes blinked. "Not what now?"

She rested her cheek against his chest. It felt wonderful to have him near again, this time without the wracking coughs. "I was sorry that we never had children, but in the end…" Wakanae sat up a little to pout at him. "Well, you always like being right, don't you?" The air in the hut started to heat and she had the feeling it had nothing to do with embers on the hearth. "Something wrong, dear?"

_All that grief for nothing?_ Tensai curbed the curse on his tongue. He had spent three centuries in a personal hell agonizing if he deprived his woman of fulfillment. But then, he never asked, had he? _Well, maybe I deserved it… _

Twining his fingers through her hair suddenly reminded him. Tensai sat up quickly…then realized he would have to cross the room to his clothes. He considered taking the blanket but it wasn't right to leave a woman uncovered and exposed to chill.

Wakanae noticed the debate waged over the swordfish's features. _He's feeling self-conscious?_ Tensai's expression wasn't much different than his usual scowl, but she knew him well enough to know where his mind was going. _Really, Tennosuke, after what we just…?_ She shook her head.

"What?" Tensai snapped when he felt her staring at him.

"You're being foolish. And vain."

"Don't act like you know what I'm thinking."

"Too late." She smiled.

Tensai scowled. "Would you mind giving me some priva—"

Wakanae laughed. The sound made Tensai's heart swell, and his body had a similar reaction to her laughter, finally hearing it again after three hundred years. _Excellent_, he groused. Now it would be _very_ difficult to get up and cross the room.

"Are you self-conscious because of the time that's elapsed?"

"No," he said petulantly. So he wasn't in his prime any more, what did it matter? Tensai looked at his hands, no longer as smooth as the first time they had held Wakanae. He didn't quite want to consider how his face or body must have appeared.

"You know, I really do enjoy looking," she smiled, eyes freely assessing him.

Tensai scowled. "A moment ago you were whining that I'm not taking care of myself."

"Fine," Wakanae decided, gathering up the comforter and pulling it around them both. "We'll go together."

Gathering the blanket, she stood up with him. Tensai nearly tripped and she laughed, pulling him in so she pressed close. With no small amount of fussing and, on Wakanae's part anyway, giggles, they managed to make it across the room after several clumsy minutes.

Tensai searched under the collar of his shirt until he withdrew a small chain of tiny clamshells. Wakanae's eyes lit up at the sight. "You saved them!"

_You remember. _Tensai held her tighter.

"And one's missing!"

Tensai laughed. He dug the stray shell that Sesshomaru had returned to him earlier in the week. "Sorry. It got detached. It was an emergen—"

"Do that again," she interrupted suddenly.

For the second time that night, Tensai sat there looking bewildered. "Apologize?"

"Laugh."

Tensai managed a snort. "Even for you, love, I don't think you can order—"

She trailed her fingers over the sensitive gills on his neck, unleashing an amused bark. He couldn't remember a time when he was sober and this giddy. Only with Wakanae.

_My Wakanae. _

"I thought you were tired," she laughed, but it went breathy as she felt the questing lips lowered to her shoulder and lingered on her neck. "Slower this time, if you please," she sighed and eased back into in him.

oOo

Wakanae said they had a couple of hours past dawn, but what did that matter? As soon as the sun broke through the periwinkle skies it was nothing but a countdown from there. _And like waking from a dream, my days again are my nights._

For her part, Wakanae tried to tell him everything was going to be all right. Ever skeptical, her Tennosuke wasn't convinced. In truth, neither was she. Dying the first time had been excruciating, a terrible tearing experience that ripped out little pieces of her lungs with every cough. While she didn't suffer consumption now, she had no idea how a second death was to come. The boy with the blue eyes – _Kichiruka_ – had reassured her repeatedly that he had "paid enough" that her passing would be as smooth as a spring breeze. "Like falling asleep," he said. But his eyes had still been stormy and sad, and Wakanae wasn't too sure how to interpret that.

"I don't want to see you go," Tensai sighed.

"I'm not sure if they'll let me back in. I feel like the world's most decadent woman," Wakanae laughed, even though she was fully clothed again.

"Does that mean you'll stay?" Tensai meant to tease, but there was always a little bit of truth in every joke. He really was hoping.

"You know the answer," she said softly. "But my love will be with you always." Wakanae curled closer in his lap. His hakama and the matching gi were a dark midnight blue. She remembered he had always preferred soft pastels or gentle golds. "One request?"

"Tell me."

"Keep laughing." She smiled at him. "You're always such a handsome fellow when you do."

For her sake, he chuckled a little.

Tensai felt the moment her heart stopped. But stubbornly a piece of him reasoned that maybe if he held her close enough his own pulse would be sufficient to jumpstart hers again. Tensai cradled Wakanae until her body went cold. Only then did the magic that restored her for that one night finally give way and disburse into a flurry of dust motes. And Tensai's hold retracted to only himself.

_I should get back to resetting the room. _

He didn't move.

For a human, Wakanae always did have better control of water than even a Master of Arcane Arts could manage. Only she could make Tensai's unbidden tears fall.

oOo

The second meeting with Sesshomaru had gone better than Kichiruka expected. And he took his time showing up to Tensai's study.

"You're late," the swordfish observed testily.

_Is that what she said?_ Kichiruka bowed low, hiding his smile. "Sorry."

"And yet you're still thinking insolent thoughts, aren't you?"

"No." Kichiruka grinned.

"Sick bastard," Tensai muttered. "You're an idiot for wasting your life's water like that."

"So it worked?"

Yellow eyes narrowed and Tensai's frown deepened.

_He's still in such a sour mood?_ Kichiruka found the notion unfathomable. "Couldn't get it up?"

Without warning, a heavily webbed claw hooked into the front of Kichiruka's robe, hauling him up . "We need to have a talk about your place as my student and respecting my personal life," Tensai growled.

"But…I thought you would've been happy to…"

"Three hundred years' grief for a few hours' delirious pleasure? She was dead, Kichiruka, and meant to stay so."

"Aw, really! You're telling me you two didn't have a good time last night?"

Both hands on his student now, Tensai slammed Kichiruka up against the wall. "This is what I mean," he snarled. "You have no business interfering with such things. Since when did I give you leave? Since when did I permit? How dare you become so familiar with –"

Kichiruka rolled his eyes. _Damn, who knew this would be more trouble than what it was worth? You give a guy a break…_He interrupted Tensai in mid-rant. "Don't you love her?"

Tensai paused. What the hell did that have to do with anything? "Yes…of course. But that isn't the issue here."

"It isn't?" Kichiruka wriggled a little. Still upset, Tensai didn't let go, but his grip loosened somewhat. "If you love her, isn't her company welcomed any which way?"

Kichiruka was dropped.

"Yes, yes, I said so…I love her." Tensai rolled the words in his mouth as if testing their weight. He had told Wakanae so. "I love her," he repeated. For the first time it didn't sound like he was ashamed. It didn't feel wrong or filthy or carry any of the grime that yokai and humans felt for their relationship. Just simple, sweet, and clean. "I love her."

Kichiruka watched as his sullen teacher suddenly laughed.

"Gods, I must sound as if I've lost my mind."

Kichiruka shrugged. "Maybe you've recovered your soul."

Tensai fixed him with a glare that made the younger demon recoil, expecting a strike. But instead, Tensai quickly relaxed and, although the tight frown didn't leave his face, he closed his eyes and sank back to be seated.

"Maybe…" he conceded.

.

_A/N: This is actually the chapter that started "Catch and Release." I sympathized for Tensai and wanted to restore some sense of faith in him. Especially where Wakanae is concerned. Thank you for reading and reviewing._


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